Funding update post-Brexit

20/02/2019

We understand that project partners and potential applicants want as much information as possible regarding Brexit.

The latest information we have is that the European Commission has put forward a proposal regarding funding in a no-deal Brexit.

This follows the UK Government’s announcement in July 2018 that gave a funding guarantee to UK organisations of projects that are approved by the end of 2020 (which remains the most recent official news release from HM Treasury about Brexit regarding EU programmes).

This is the current situation:

In the event of a Brexit deal

The Withdrawal Agreement enables the France (Channel) England Programme to continue and complete as planned. This means that projects can be approved until the Programme’s last deadline in 2020 and be funded for the lifetime of those projects (up until the end of 2023).

In the event of a no-deal Brexit

The European Commission has made a proposal (read here) to extend the approval of projects of EU-funded programmes until the end of 2019. Note: this is subject to approval by the UK Government.

Therefore, any project that is approved within the legal timeframes either in a Brexit deal or no-deal Brexit situation will be able to complete its course and be funded for the lifetime of that project.

We’re awaiting the UK Government’s response to the proposal and will update the website when we have more information.

In the meantime, we continue to work in ‘business as usual’ mode, which means we’re still running continuous calls for regular projects and have two calls per year for micro projects. Our final application deadlines are June 2020 for regular projects and April 2020 for micro projects.

FAQ

Q Do you know when the UK Government will respond to the proposal? A No, we don’t have a timescale for a response.

Q In a no-deal Brexit, if the UK Government approves the European Commission’s proposal, can projects be approved in 2020? A No, in such a case, projects will only be able to be approved until the Programme’s last deadline in 2019.

Q Is there a chance the UK won’t approve the European Commission’s proposal? A In theory it’s possible, although prior to this proposal, the UK had already guaranteed funding to UK partners of projects up to end of 2020.

Q In a no-deal Brexit, do partners of approved projects need to take any action? A Not at this stage - we will let project partners know if there’s anything they need to do.

The France (Channel) England Programme is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).